


some love was made for the lights

by orphan_account



Series: this is what makes us girls [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Riverdale, Riverparents, Senior year, Underage Drinking, and i have a new ship, i can't wait for my heart to be crushed by canon, parentdale, they're just a bunch of dummies having a water balloon fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 06:09:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16080074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's the RHS Class of '93 Senior Skip Day! Or at least... going into the end of it, when Penelope Parker finally shows up to the Happening at golden hour on the bank of Sweetwater River (she's actually kind of fun to write tipsy). The teen Riverparents are all in for a whirlwind of shenanigans - between shots of Blazeball with boys, Kris Kross blasting on a boombox, and some idiots thinking it be a brilliant idea to give an arsenal of water balloons to drunk teenagers... What a blast!





	some love was made for the lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bewareoftrips](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewareoftrips/gifts), [jugheadjones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jugheadjones/gifts), [bisexualfpjones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualfpjones/gifts).



> This was supposed to be kind of angsty, but actually turned out kind of cute and I might add on.

The cacophony of laughter and a beer being lifted from the cooler was enough to make the heartbeat in Penelope’s throat jump. Maybe they hadn’t seen her – this was her last chance to escape one of the last big bashes of the RHS Class of ’93. There would be plenty of opportunities to celebrate this week. It was Senior Skip Day, and she took a hard pass most of the festivities, having departed early from the breakfast gathering at Pop’s that morning. Now, they were going into Senior Sunset Celebration, followed by Senior Prank Day on Tuesday, Graduation Practice on Wednesday, Yearbook Signing Picnic on Thursday, Graduation on Friday, and the Senior All Nighter right after that. Penelope thought this to be an absurd itinerary, really. She pivoted on her heel in the gravel before any could spot her, at least, she hoped.

“Hey, Parker!” A familiar voice called.

She rolled her eyes before turning to face Hiram Lodge with her best smile. She noticed Hermione was on his arm, looking at Penelope through the mask of a warm smile and cold eyes. There was no mistaking that ice behind that gaze, not even the light of golden hour at Sweetwater River could hide it. And Penelope was all-too familiar with it.

“Hiram. Hermione.”

It’s all she could bring herself to say.

“You didn’t think we’d leave you out of the party, did you?” Hermione asked loudly.

_That’s all anyone here’s done for the last twelve years._

“Of course not,” Penelope responded with her trademark grimace.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Grab a beer! Take a dip in the river before the sun sets – or wait until it gets dark if you want to go for a midnight swim with anyone special,” Hiram winked.

Hermione swatted her boyfriend on the chest playfully.

“Ignore him,” she said.

Penelope sighed and figured she may as well catch up, seeing as everyone else there had a head start on the booze. Her eyes fall on the three large outdoor coolers where the gravel ends and where the grass begins. There best be some wine coolers in there, or this was all in vain. She nearly tripped over a red solo cup on her wedged heels that she kept hidden in her school locker from her mother. She barely responded to a few over-enthused greetings from peers she didn’t think knew her name at this point, four days from graduation. Just then, a shirtless and dripping Fred Andrews ran up to the coolers, accidentally flicked water on her as he reached for a hard lemonade. It was close enough considering the limited selection of beer, she decides, as he hands a bottle to her.

“Oh, let me get that,” he quickly snatched the bottle from her and pried the cap off with his teeth.

A sight she never thought she’d see.

“Thank you, Frederick,” Penelope murmured.

“Where have you been all day?” He asked.

Penelope sips before answering, pleasantly surprised by the tartness.

“I was ensuring all my final assignments were turned in,” she responded.

“Oh Penelope, it’s the end of an era. Loosen up a bit,” he encouraged.

Penelope took another sip, ignoring the fact that she had no idea how he intended for that to come across. He clearly had a few, but was present enough to be standing there rather still, and he had gone for a swim in the river.

“You got any plans for after?” Fred inquired casually.

“After what?”

“C’mon, Penelope. After graduation, what else?”

“Oh, no. Nothing of that sort… Stay with my family, perhaps travel back to Scotland for a few weeks,” Penelope replied.

“Scotland. Nice.”

“Penelope?” Mary’s voice caught her attention.

She looked to her right, to see Mary Feldman offering a friendly smile.

As she stepped closer, Penelope could see the other red head had been out there all day – by the look of the peeling skin along her shoulders and nose. As far as Penelope could tell, Mary hadn’t been drinking. At least this was someone not only tolerable, but pleasant.

“Hey, Mary, look who made finally made it to the party,” Fred said.

“How are you, Penelope?”

“I’m well, I just arrived. And yourself?”

“I’m just here what we are all here for, you know? Celebration,” Mary answered softly.

“Speaking of which, I’m gonna head back on over to the water while it’s still nice,” Fred stated before dashing off.

Mary let out a sigh. Penelope felt a sticky heat on the back of her neck. And that heat turned to a chill when her eyes fell on them. Alice was letting out a burst of laughter as Hal picked her up and spun her around in the grass. They toppled over seconds later, their lips meeting affectionately. Penelope quickly broke her gaze, and looked around the set up her classmates had going. It was like someone had dropped a little village along the large patch grass on the riverbank. There were people setting up their tents as it was nearing sunset, something Penelope hadn’t intended to stay for. But for the first time in her life, Penelope had no curfew and the only place she wanted to go was home.

 “We have a long week ahead of us, don’t we?” Penelope responded.

“You could call it that. Are you staying the night?” Mary asked.

“Oh, no. I don’t have a tent, or sleeping bag,” she replied.

“What? Are you sure? Oh, you… You could stay in the four-person tent with Sierra and me. We have plenty of room, and I have an extra sleeping bag if you’d like.”

“What about Hermione? Isn’t she staying with-?”

“Hiram,” Mary responded.

“Oh, right… What about Fred?” Penelope asked.

“With FP.”

Penelope made eye contact with Mary – and recognized a sense of loneliness in her eyes. She recognized it because she too, was used to being left out by those she considered those her friends. Penelope understood the pain of third wheeling a couple, but couldn’t begin to imagine the misery of that twice-over, or... with whatever Mary, Fred, and FP were these days. But neither one of the redheads were close enough to acknowledge this understanding of each other’s woes for more than a second. And they certainly were not friendly enough to share a tent.  

“Look, Mary…”

“Please? It could be fun. More fun than going home and wondering what you missed out on. Everyone is here, and I mean everyone. Did you see Tommy Keller? Milton Doiley?” Mary said with a lightness that only she could switch to after that unintentional moment of pity.

Penelope couldn’t argue with that.

“Ok,” Penelope responded.

“Thanks, Penelope.”

“I’m going for a walk, but where is the tent?” Penelope asked.

“You can’t miss it. It’s the bright green one, by the bonfire,” Mary answered.

“Bonfire?” Penelope asked.

“It hasn’t started yet.”

“Well, I can see that. But a bonfire… that will be… nice,” Penelope said.

“Yeah.”

With that, Penelope strode forward along the grass, leaving Mary by the coolers. Penelope ran a hand through her hair as she tried to understand what she just got herself into. She took to finishing off her lemonade as took note of everything around her. Alice and Hal had disappeared from where they were previously in the grass and Penelope didn’t really want to take a guess as to what they were doing now. Everyone here was in a celebratory mood, why couldn’t Penelope act accordingly? She knew what it would take to not be a spoil-sport. With that, she pivoted on her heel. The contents of the cooler were the only key to her enjoying this. Mary had disappeared since Penelope walked off. Just as Penelope reached for a pink hard lemonade, Marty Mantle came sweeping in with packs of liquor on each shoulder and Jerry Mason was right on his heel with a keg.

“Watch out, Parker!” Marty grunted as he dropped the precious cargo in the cooler.

Penelope felt her heart flutter a bit with such an arrival. He was quick to tear at the cardboard, shaking the bottles into the ice. Jerry settles the keg next to it, before turning back to the gravel parking lot.

“Where’ve you been all day?” Marty asked as Penelope watched him distribute the bottles in the ice with crossed arms.

“Finishing assignments,” she sighed.

“You would spend a beautiful day such as this with your cute little nose in a book,” he said as he extended an arm to Penelope with another bottle, focus still on the cooler.

He didn’t need to be looking at her to know she rolled her eyes.

“Thank you.”

The gravel crunched beneath her shoes as she walked off.

“I got some stronger stuff in the truck, if you want…” Marty spoke up.

Penelope halted in her tracks.

“Define… stronger,” she said as she turned to face him.

Marty shot her a boyish grin and ran a hand through his thick dark curls. He looked her up and down with an amused glint in his eyes. Penelope raised an eyebrow, though she hadn’t intended it to be a playful gesture.  

“Well, are you going to leave a lady guessing or-?”

“Blazeball,” he chuckled.

“Oh, Marty,” her expression broke into a grin.  

He appeared taken aback by the warmth in her voice. Penelope noticed this and broke eye contact. Marty swiped a bottle from the cooler. He almost tripped over it as he led the way to the truck. Penelope turned her face away to hide her laugh, toward the sun. As he noticed this, Marty wanted to believe it was just the evening heat that burned in his face, but couldn’t be sure.

“What activities did you participate in today?” Penelope inquired.

“Oh… Well, after the breakfast… you were at that right?”

“I was, but not for too long,” Penelope answered.

“I should have guessed,” Marty paused, “You’ve never been one to linger.”

The girl didn’t know how to interpret that, and she looked down to the ground before them. The gravel was still surprisingly even considering all the traffic of the day.

“But back to… what did you call it? My activities… After breakfast, we all made our way out here. Mostly spent the day keeping everyone alive... making runs to the different liquor stores in Greendale.”

“So, not much enjoyment has come of this day for you either.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he was quick to respond.

“Hey Mantle! Put this by the other?” Jerry asked.

Penelope looked up to see another keg over the burly guy’s shoulder. He had barely broken a sweat.

“Yep. Don’t get them started without me though! Just pre-gaming before I join everyone else.”

“Sounds good, dude!” Jerry responded before lugging off.

Marty sighed, before walking to the driver side of the door. He threw himself over the bench seat, and shuffled in the glove compartment. Penelope stood at the tailgate, which was now flat. Her eyes fell to the lemonade still in her hands. The condensation felt nice in the sticky heat of the evening. She looked back up as the truck door shut. Marty walked around the bed of the truck with the promising poison in one hand and two shot glasses in another.

“A lady never shoots whiskey straight from the bottle,” he chuckled.

“I suppose you are correct in that.”

He set the two glasses down on the bed of the truck, and carefully unscrewed the cap. Cinnamon immediately permeated her senses. He gently handed her the glass, the sides of which were already drenched in the drink. The liquid practically glowed in the rays of sunshine that poked through the lush trees surrounding the parking lot. He lifted his own glass, parallel to hers.

“Here’s to…” He hesitated.

“To…  the end of an era—“ She echoed Fred’s words from earlier.

“And new beginnings,” he finished.

Hazel eyes allowed themselves to meet attentive brown. The shot glasses chimed together, and the teenagers threw their heads back. Penelope’s throat immediately set ablaze and she dropped the glass on the bed. One hand flew flat to her chest, coughing violently. Marty’s movements mirrored hers.

“Shit. Chasers!” Marty huffed as his hand dove in his cargo shorts pocket, retrieving a bottle opener keychain.

He yanked the bottle of lemonade from Penelope’s other hand. He fumbled as he pried the cap off before shoving the bottle back in her direction. Pink liquor spilled over the top as she accepted it with as much elegance as one could given the situation. He shuffled back to the driver side, retrieving the lemonade he left in the front seat. Penelope’s eyes watered momentarily. She was just beginning to catch her breath as Marty doubled over, still at the driver side door.

“Are you ok, Marty?” Penelope asked hoarsely.

She couldn’t see him from where she stood, but let out a breath of relief as a hand with a “thumbs up” in her line of sight. The girl took another sip, and shook her head. The gravel dragged beneath Marty as he stepped back around.

“Shit, Penelope. I’m sorry,” he groaned.

“It was an amateur move on both our parts,” Penelope replied gently.

Marty let out a burst of laughter and shook his head. She took another sip of her lemonade, and exhaled again.

“Let’s do another one,” she said.

It clearly wasn’t a question. Marty looked up, slightly dumbfounded, mostly impressed.

“You sure, Parker?”

Her expression didn’t waver. She was absolutely serious.

“Ok then!” He exclaimed with a cracked voice.

With that, he poured another. They were prepared this time.

“Another.”

“Are you sure?”

“Marty, it was you who said I spent my entire day with… what was it? With my cute little nose in a book. I must catch up with everyone else here – and apparently, the same can be said for you.”

He didn’t want to argue with that logic. And so, another round it was. And another. It burned their throats and stung their eyes each time.

“I think that will suffice,” she eventually stated.

“Methinks you’re right… Besides, I still gotta do the keg stand,” Marty responded.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Marty deposited the whiskey back into the dashboard before making his way back to the gathering. Penelope stood there momentarily before following. As they neared the grass where people were gathering for refuels, “ _Jump”_ by _Kris Kross_ blared from someone’s stereo. The only reason Penelope recognized this was because it was something the River Vixens performed to at their last rival game against Baxter High. Just in that moment, Hermione emerged from the gaggle of teenage hooligans. Given the status of her equilibrium, it was apparent that she was as equally inebriated at Penelope and Marty.

“Penelope! Good, you’re still here!” The raven-haired girl sang.

“I am still here,” Penelope replied with a tone that carried about half-as-much enthusiasm.

“Dance to this with Marilyn and Claudia… and the others and me! For old time’s sake?” Hermione asked if it hadn’t been performed just five months ago.

The River Vixen Captain’s eyes glimmered with pre-mature nostalgia. It was close enough to the finish line, Penelope could not find any reason to not indulge her… friend.

“Oh, why not?” Penelope responded.

“Thank you,” Hermione slurred.

“I must remove my footwear though,” The two girls looked down to the grass.

Against usual instinct, Penelope grasped Hermione’s arm for balance as she fumbled with the straps on her wedged heels. Hermione held as still as possible. Marty had been on stand-by.

“Hey – I’m going to head on over to the keg… Enjoy the rest of your night,” he said to the girls, just audible enough over the music and chatter.

“Toodles, Marty!”

“You as well, Marty!”

Penelope released Hermione’s arm as she kicked the other shoe off.

“Let’s go!” Hermione dragged the other girl along, the shoes forgotten in the grass.

They stumbled through classmates waiting in line for the cooler, and into an area that was obviously cleared out by the other girls.

“You found her!”

“That I did! That I did!”

Penelope looked around. Dozens of sets of eyes had fallen on them, once more. Maybe for the last time – who was she kidding? Hermione would initiate an old performance at any given chance, if one of their old songs was to play at the events this week. Penelope shook her head before forcing on that smile she had spent hours practicing in the mirror.

_How high? Real high, 'cause I'm just so fly._

Despite, their state, they broke out into perfect sync. Arms stretched into a v-formation, turning to an L-shape.

_A young lovable, hugable type of guy._

Arms crossed around themselves as they twirl.

_And everything is to the back with a little slack_

Facing the crowd again, their arms stretch out to the crowd, one arm over the other, wrists flicked delicately before retracting and gliding over their hair.

_'Cause inside-out is wiggity, wiggity, wiggity wack_

Her smile may become genuine as encouraging cheers burst from the line of people. She looked over to Hermione, who was absolutely reveling in this moment. Luckily, they had all been on the same page and did not make any attempt to stunt, though Hermione dropped into a split at the very end. Penelope expected nothing less from her. They were given their rightful applause, and everyone’s priority refocused on why they were in line. Hermione hopped up from the grass, and threw her arms around the red-haired girl. Had she been sober, Penelope may have stiffened up at such close contact. Instead, she settled into the other girl’s friendly embrace and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Oh, thank you so much, Penelope.”

Hermione gave her a quick squeeze before releasing her. Penelope stared at the other girl’s smile, the way it reached her eyes authentically. She mirrored it. Suddenly, the line of people that were before them broke as Hiram and Hal lugged along more coolers.

“Help me up, bro?” Hiram asked.

Hal rolled his eyes, and helped Hiram stand on top of one of the coolers. His hands formed a megaphone in addressing the small crowd.

“Everyone! Your attention please!”

Their eyes fell on him, and Penelope turned to see Mary and Sierra now standing next to them. Alice too.

“As promised! We have a little surprise!”

“What is it?” Milton Doiley inquired.

Hiram smiled deliciously, before Hal placed his hands on his waist and helped Hiram off the cooler. The wrestler opened it to reveal it full of water balloons. Hal beamed at his peers.

“Now, before you all get too rowdy—“ Hal began.

He didn’t even have a chance to finish speaking. Immediately, the blur of Alice Smith appeared. She was quick to grab a balloon, and break it over his shoulders. She let out a cackle, and that was all it prompted for everyone else to join in. The four coolers they lugged were opened with fumbling hands. Hiram and Hal jumped out of the way, realizing it was really a stupid idea to have tried to have some system of organization here.

“I told you they wouldn’t listen,” Hiram said before grabbing a handful of blue and gold ammunition.

“It was worth a shot!” Hal replied.

Hermione let out a playful scream as water burst around their feet. Penelope tried to back away slowly, she really did. But it was too late. Hermione grabbed her by the shoulders, holding her close in front of her. Penelope attempted to wriggle out of her grasp.

“Are- are you? What? Hermione, what the hell?” Penelope squeaked.

“Sorry, Pen,” Hermione giggled as she pushed them closer to the coolers.

A balloon broke across Penelope’s green dress. She yelped. The cold-water seeping through fabric. Another attack followed, this time along her side.

“Hermione! Let me go!” She shouted.

The girl only obliged once they reached the coolers. Penelope stumbled, everything around them was spinning. The same could be said from where Hermione stood. She stocked up on a handful of balloons haphazardly, and extended one over to Penelope.

“I’m sorry for using you as a shield.”

Penelope stared, and took it in her hand.

“How sincere,” Penelope said before pelting it at Hermione’s torso.

Unfortunately, it bounced off her chest and broke on the grass beside her. Hermione giggled and looked to Penelope, shaking her head.

“Big mistake, Red!” Hermione aimed, missing Penelope narrowly.

Penelope looked to the next cooler, and taking a red balloon in each hand. The other girl chased her out to a more open space on the grass. They were now circling each other. Not even phased by the second-hand splashes of those around them. Hermione had an amused look on her face, though she was nearly tripping over her own feet. Penelope felt the ground beneath her move as she steadied, aimed, and fired. She let out a giggle as her strike was successful, bursting as it made contact with the front of Hermione’s denim shorts.

“You bitch!” Hermione flung a balloon in her direction.

A miss, but it broke by her feet. Penelope yelped, and dropped the other balloon she had. She had to re-stock! But as she turned back to the ammunition pile, a cold burst of water saturated her back. Penelope looked over her shoulder, and Hermione responded by sticking her tongue out.

“Penelope! Watch out!” Mary shouted from a distance.

As she turned back to the cooler, a shirtless FP Jones was running head-on into the grass with a loaded Super Soaker, followed by a shirtless Fred Andrews and shirtless Tom Keller. She collected as many balloons as she could, knocking elbows with a few peers. And ran back out to the open grass, hoping to be out of his reach. Hermione was now riding across the field on Hiram’s back, aiming at Hal and Alice, who were mirroring them.

“Need some help?” Penelope spun around, to see Marty standing there.

“I think I will be just fine,” she said.

“Oh, ok,” he responded before turning away.

“Wait!” She shrieked.

“Actually… I… think… in the interest of battle strategy, perhaps it would be best… for us… to, to form an alliance,” Penelope barely managed to spit out.

“I think so too,” he grinned.

He knelt on one knee before her.

“Penelope Parker, will you be my ally in this water balloon battle?”

Penelope’s mouth opened and closed and she nodded. He realized just how awkward it was by her expression, and spun around, urging her to climb on his back. The thought of her being in a dress, didn’t even cross her mind as she followed through though. She tried to be careful not to break any balloons as she climbed up, but ended up dropping one on the grass. His arms hooked perfectly around her strong legs. As he stood, she felt herself leaning closer into him.

“You good?”

“Yes, Marty.”

That was all it took for him to charge into the middle of the field. Penelope’s eyes scanned the crowd. She noted Mary and Sierra already soaked-head-to-toe by Tom, Fred, and FP. They were hopeless, but maybe they could lead the boys to the main targets she really wanted to go for.

“Marty, let’s lead them to Hiram and Hal,” She giggled, her mouth inches from his ear.

“Are you sure, Parker? They have Super Soakers,” he observed.

“Which is the perfect way to get everyone else soaked,” she slurred.

“Ok then, let’s do this.”

He jogged forward. Penelope with a balloon in hand, aimed, and fired at FP. It struck, but not her target. Instead, it burst on the back of Tom’s head. Oops. The group of boys turned their attention to the two new assailants. Mary and Sierra took this as an opportunity to escape the firing squad. Marty and Penelope’s eyes widened as they lined up, ready to fire.

“Run, Marty!” Penelope squeaked.

As he turned, cold water splattered on Penelope’s back. She let out a high-pitched laugh. It didn’t take much effort for Marty to start zig-zagging, given the state of his system and the slippery grass. Penelope looked over her shoulder to see the boys pursuing them, hot on their heels. She turned to see Hiram, Alice, Hal, and Hermione getting closer and closer as Marty ran. A balloon struck him in the chest as they ran through the field. Caught in the crossfire, or… crosswater, would have been more fitting. Alice was the first to notice them approach, and she yelled at Hal to turn so she could better aim. He did so, but was too late. Penelope flung a balloon in their direction, just missing by a hair. Alice’s eyes narrowed, and she shot back.

“Look who decided to join us!” Hiram grunted – he was now also shirtless.

Hermione offered a welcoming smile to the two, but then, she noticed who was on their tail.

“Seriously? You brought re-enforcements?” Hal shouted.

“Yes, Hal. We were able to form an alliance with the guys armed with Super Soakers. No, bro! C’mon!” Marty responded.

Alice pelted a balloon at them, hitting Marty square on top of the head, the splash hitting Penelope square in the face. Penelope flung another balloon, and missed again. But the gesture was soon avenged as Fred took aim at the two. Water immediately blasted on them, and they both yelped. Alice tapped on Hal’s shoulders, and his arms unhooked from her legs. She slid down, her shirt riding up in the process. She didn’t care, she was focused on vengeance.

“Fred! How could you?” Alice laughed as she flung a balloon at them.

“Just playing the game, Al. Be a good sport, now!”

“Hey! Cooper!” FP aimed his Super Soaker at Hal.

His bright blue eyes widened, and Alice jumped in front of him, taking the fire.

“Alice!” Hal whined.

As the pressure of the stream went down rather slowly, FP lowered the Super Soaker. His face was that of a man realizing he was done for.

“I’ll get you for that, Junior!” Alice said before turning to Hal.

“What, babe?”

“You didn’t have to do that for me, babe,” he answered, brushing strands of wet hair from her face.

“I wanted to. That’s what we do. We take the fire for each other,” Alice giggled.

They proceeded to lock lips, eliciting unsurprised groans from everyone around them.

“Get a room!” Someone in the distance shouted.

Alice lifted a middle finger to the general direction. Hermione and Hiram were now pre-occupied with Tom, whose aim was unmatched and precise. Hermione flung a balloon, but missed by a long-shot. Tom pumped the gun and aimed. Nothing shot out from the Super Soaker, and he looked down it. His eyes widened as he realized he was out of water already. Penelope tapped on Marty’s shoulders, and they turned to Tom’s direction. Penelope took her shot. The balloon burst right on target, square over Tom’s chest.

“Ha! Nice one!” Marty shouted.

“Hey! Mantle! Parker! You didn’t think I’d lose sight of you two,” FP slurred loudly.

They turned in his direction. Fortunately for them, Fred Andrews unintentionally rescued them by colliding with FP on the slippery grass. FP’s Super Soaker accidentally knocking Fred in the face as they toppled over – FP on top. Alice clapped her hand over her mouth in amusement.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Hiram quipped.

"Hiram!"

Hermione chided.

"What?"

She tapped her boyfriend on the shoulders, and slid off his back, stumbling in the process. Still on Marty, Penelope looked around the stretch of grass, seeing that not a single person was dry. Marty noticed this too, and knelt so she could hop off. Her dress was soaked and bunched up around her upper thighs, but she was too distracted to notice. Hiram walked out to the middle of the strip, water droplets clinging to his naked skin.

“It seems as though, this battle – like all battles, has come to an end!” He declared.

It earned him some applause and some boos.

“And it looks like none of you mo’fos won!” He added.

“Put your shirt back on!” Mary shouted from the side, a beach towel draped over her and Sierra.

Hiram shot what was probably supposed to be a wink to Mary.

“Disgusting,” she coughed.

Sierra was the only to giggle.

“Now! I think this would be a great time to get the bonfire started! Yeah? So, get some dry clothes on, and the fire pit will be ready soon!” Hiram shouted.

The field erupted into cheers, and people began retreating to their tents. Penelope swayed as she looked for Mary and Sierra. Marty helped her steady on the slippery grass.

“Woah, slow it down there,” he said.

She looked up to him with hazy eyes.

“Thank you, Marty.”

“For what?”

“For being my ally tonight,” Penelope hiccupped.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love any feedback you may have! Thank you for reading!


End file.
